The outyear projections should not be taken too seriously, since the Russians themselves seem not to know from month to month how many planes of what type they might purchase.

There are some evident discrepancies in some of these time series that are not immediately explicable. These numbers represent a consolidlation of data from a variety of sources, including the frustratingly inconsistent data provided by IISS. Troops of National Air Defense (PVO) merged with Air Force in 1998, which is reflected in some changes between 1995 and 2000. Otherwise, in the face of an almost complete procurement holiday from 1992 through 2007, aircraft holdings should be expected to go down, not up, and any reports to the contrary are immediately suspect. In some cases this may reflect an increase in active aircraft, as airframes could be taken out of storage and placed back into service.